Thursday

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Last year was “a banner year” for confiscation of firearms used illegally, Police Chief Hugh T. Clements said Thursday.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Last year was “a banner year” for confiscation of firearms used illegally, Police Chief Hugh T. Clements said Thursday.

It was “the yearly collection in day-to-day activities in the world of the Providence police,” Clements reported. He said that 121 of the weapons were handguns, and the remaining 17 were rifles or shotguns. “That was the highest number we’ve seen in the last 15 years,” he said.

The weapons were confiscated by the narcotics unit, the patrol unit and the guns and gangs task force, he said.

They ranged in caliber from .22 to .45, Clements said.

After the criminal cases make their way through the judiciary, he said, the department will confer with the attorney general’s office. Once the path is cleared, he said, the department will turn the weapons over to a company in Massachusetts, which will melt them down.

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